183 Fun Facts About Seinfeld

What is the name of the coffee shop where Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer frequently hang out?

Monk's Café is the gang's second home; in 'The Soup', a bungled date with one of its waitresses leaves George unable to eat there, so they end up at a rival diner, Reggie's.

In 'The Contest,' what are the four main characters competing to go longest without doing?

The four bet on who can go longest without masturbating; the word is never spoken in the episode, and its script won a Primetime Emmy for comedy writing.

What is Kramer's first name?

Kramer's first name is Cosmo, revealed in the season-six episode 'The Switch' (January 1995) when his mother Babs uses it; for five seasons he had been known only as Kramer.

Who is the actor that plays Jerry Seinfeld's neighbor Kramer?

Michael Richards played Kramer for all nine seasons; in 'The Keys' the character turns actor himself, leaving for Los Angeles and popping up in an episode of Murphy Brown.

When his secret recipes get out, the Soup Nazi announces he is closing and moving to which country?

Argentina: once his recipes turn up in an armoire he gave away, he shuts the stand for good, and Newman races home for a big pot to collect the last free soup.

In 'The Stall', what does Jerry's girlfriend tell Elaine, who is begging for toilet paper?

I can't spare a square, Jane insists from the next stall; Elaine later gets even by taking every roll and leaving Jane stranded in turn.

What was George's longest-running job title, held with a Major League Baseball team?

George was assistant to the traveling secretary for the baseball team from 'The Opposite' (1994), where he got the job by insulting the owner to his face, until he was traded to Tyler Chicken in 'The Muffin Tops' (1997).

Under what title did Seinfeld's pilot air on NBC in 1989?

The Seinfeld Chronicles tested badly, with viewers calling the supporting cast weak, and NBC nearly dropped it before ordering just four more episodes.

Seinfeld's first four regular episodes were paid for out of an NBC budget meant for what?

Specials: Rick Ludwin, who ran NBC's late-night shows and specials rather than its sitcoms, split two hours of that budget into four half-hours to keep the show alive.

What does George describe as "a full-bodied dry heave set to music"?

George is describing Elaine's dancing, a thumb-jabbing flail unveiled at the J. Peterman company party in 1996; her staff lose respect for her after watching it.

What does Jerry do for a living on the show?

Jerry Seinfeld plays a fictionalized version of himself as a stand-up comedian living in New York City. Many episodes feature clips of his stand-up routines.

Jerry's nemesis from down the hall works for which organisation?

Newman is a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service; in 'The Lip Reader' (1993) he boasts, 'When you control the mail, you control information.'

With what snide two-word greeting does Jerry address his nemesis from down the hall?

Jerry greets Newman with a clipped, contemptuous 'Hello, Newman,' and Newman answers 'Hello, Jerry' with mock warmth; Jerry's mother Helen delivers the same 'Hello, Newman.'

In 'The Marine Biologist,' what does George pull out of the whale's blowhole?

George pulls out a golf ball, a Titleist; Kramer had been driving golf balls into the ocean from the beach earlier in the episode, so George's marine-biologist lie pays off in one line.

George's girlfriend Marcy skips over the boring parts of her stories with which three-word phrase?

Marcy says 'Yada yada yada' to skip details in 'The Yada Yada' (1997); George suspects she is hiding something, and she is, glossing over an ex-boyfriend and a shoplifting habit.

Kramer's one line, 'These pretzels are making me thirsty', is for a film by which director?

Woody Allen is shooting on Jerry's block in 'The Alternate Side'; on the take Kramer slams his beer glass down, a flying shard cuts Allen, and Kramer is fired.

What was Kramer called in Seinfeld's original pilot?

Kessler is what Jerry calls him in the 1989 pilot; a 1997 flashback explains it away, with Jerry reading the wrong name off the building's buzzer.

Jerry's apartment is in which Manhattan neighbourhood?

Upper West Side: the show puts him at 129 West 81st Street, and when Elaine's boyfriend has a stroke at Jerry's place, the paper reports it from 'the Upper West Side apartment of a friend'.

What strategy does George adopt in Seinfeld's season 5 finale that suddenly makes his life successful?

In 'The Opposite' (1994) George resolves to do the opposite, inverting every instinct he has; within one episode it wins him a girlfriend and a job in baseball, and gets him out of his parents' house.

In 'The Bubble Boy', what does Kramer leave burning that sets fire to Susan's family cabin?

A Cuban cigar, one of Susan's father's own: Kramer leaves it lit to go night swimming, and the others arrive to find the cabin in flames.

What network originally aired Seinfeld?

Seinfeld aired on NBC from 1989 and anchored the network's Thursday-night 'Must See TV' lineup in the mid-1990s.

How many episodes of Seinfeld were made across its full run?

Seinfeld ran for 180 episodes across its full run; that count treats the finale and other extended episodes as two parts, the way they air in syndication.

Who was Elaine's boss at Pendant Publishing?

Mr. Lippman's Pendant Publishing collapsed in 'The Opposite' (1994); he resurfaces in 'The Muffin Tops' (1997), opening the shop 'Top of the Muffin to You!' on Elaine's idea.

Which Festivus tradition opens the Costanzas' holiday dinner, before the Feats of Strength?

The Airing of Grievances has Frank tell everyone how they disappointed him that year; Festivus then ends only when someone pins the head of the household.

In 'The Dealership', George sets up a candy bar lineup to prove a mechanic cannot tell a Twix from what?

A 5th Avenue bar is what the mechanic insists he ate, not George's Twix; George stages the lineup to expose him in 'The Dealership' (1998), and the staff eat the evidence.

Jerry wrongly guesses 'Mulva' for a girlfriend whose name rhymes with a female body part; what is her real name?

Dolores, which Jerry works out only after she has stormed off; the writers took the name from a suggestion by a member of the studio audience.

Which actor plays Frank Costanza, George's father?

Jerry Stiller was asked to play Frank as a meek man; when that fell flat in rehearsal he began shouting the lines instead, and the bellowing Frank stuck.

What candy do Jerry and Kramer send flying into a patient while watching his surgery from the gallery?

A Junior Mint slips from Kramer's hand into the open incision of Roy, Elaine's artist ex-boyfriend, in 'The Junior Mint' (1993); Roy recovers, to his surgeon's bafflement.

In "The Muffin Tops", Kramer runs a $37 bus tour of his own life on what kind of vehicle?

It spoofs the real Kramer Reality Tour run by Kenny Kramer in New York City.

In 'The Contest,' who is the first of the four to drop out of the bet?

Kramer is out within a day: after watching the naked woman in the apartment across the street, he walks into Jerry's and slaps his money on the counter, announcing 'I'm out!'

Jerry Seinfeld says the show was really sold to NBC in 1988 as a show about what?

How a comedian gets his material was the idea they took to NBC; 'a show about nothing' was a joke from a later episode, and Seinfeld says both creators were surprised it stuck.

In 'The Secret Code,' what is George's ATM code that he refuses to share with anyone?

George's code is Bosco, after the chocolate syrup; he finally confides it to J. Peterman's dying mother, who cries it out as her last word.

What job does George often falsely claim to have when trying to impress women?

An architect is his go-to lie; when Jerry passes him off as a marine biologist instead, George complains, 'You know I always wanted to pretend that I was an architect.'

Which Seinfeld writer, once Jerry's girlfriend, is often cited as the model for Elaine?

Carol Leifer, a comedian who once dated Jerry Seinfeld, later wrote for the show; she plays the link down, saying it slights what the actress brought to Elaine.

How does George's fiancée Susan Ross die?

Licking toxic envelopes kills Susan: George had chosen the cheapest wedding invitations in the book, and the glue on them turned out to be poisonous.

Which Seinfeld episode takes place entirely while Jerry, George and Elaine wait for a table?

'The Chinese Restaurant' plays out in real time in the waiting area; the three finally give up and walk out, seconds before the host calls 'Seinfeld, four?'

In "The Label Maker", Kramer takes a paused board game to Jerry's apartment for safekeeping — which game?

Kramer and Newman's marathon game of Risk moves to Jerry's apartment for safekeeping; on the subway, Kramer's 'Ukraine is weak' taunt provokes a Ukrainian passenger to smash the board.

Which HBO comedy stars a Seinfeld co-creator as a version of himself?

Curb Your Enthusiasm stars the show's co-creator as a fictionalised version of himself; its dialogue is largely improvised by the cast from a plot outline he writes.

What event causes the gang to be arrested in the Seinfeld series finale?

In 'The Finale' (1998) the four are arrested for ignoring a carjacking: they watch and mock the overweight victim in a small Massachusetts town instead of helping, breaking its new Good Samaritan law.

In "The Strike", Kramer ends a 12-year strike and returns to his old job at what kind of business?

Kramer returns to H&H Bagels, a bagel bakery, in 'The Strike' (1997); the 12-year strike ends only because the minimum wage finally rose to what the strikers had demanded.

To keep dating his girlfriend Sasha, George decides to convert to which faith?

Latvian Orthodox: Sasha's parents will not let her date outside the church, so George studies and converts, only for her to announce she is off to Latvia for a year.

Which comedian gives Jerry an Armani suit and then holds him to a dinner in return?

Bania gives Jerry the Armani suit in 'The Soup' (1994) and claims a meal at Mendy's in return; when he orders only soup, he rules that soup is not a meal and Jerry owes him another dinner.

What vanity licence plate is Kramer mistakenly issued in the episode where he sculpts Jerry out of pasta?

Kramer's new vanity plates read ASSMAN, a DMV mix-up; he guesses the plate was meant for a proctologist and happily plays the part, even getting a doctor's parking spot.

On Seinfeld, what is the title of the sitcom pilot that the network films in season 4?

Jerry is the title; the pilot airs once, and the executive who has just replaced the missing NBC president rings straight afterwards to drop the show.

The actress who plays Elaine on Seinfeld had been a cast member of which sketch show?

Saturday Night Live hired her at 21 together with the rest of her Chicago stage revue's cast, and she left Northwestern University to join in 1982.

What is the name of the dentist who converts to Judaism seemingly for the jokes?

Dr. Tim Whatley, played by Bryan Cranston, converts to Judaism in a 1997 episode and starts telling Jewish jokes; Jerry says he is offended not as a Jew but as a comedian.

In 'The Abstinence', what happens to George when he has to go six weeks without sex?

He becomes much smarter, so sharp that he lectures two star ballplayers on the physics of hitting, while the same abstinence turns Elaine dim.

Nodding along to Kramer's inaudible girlfriend, Jerry agrees to wear what on The Today Show?

The puffy, pirate-style blouse was designed by Kramer's girlfriend Leslie; Jerry unknowingly agreed to wear it on The Today Show to promote a Goodwill benefit, and Bryant Gumbel mocked it on air.

What is the apartment number for Jerry Seinfeld's New York City residence?

Jerry lives in apartment 5A; some early episodes showed the door as 3A before the number settled on 5A for the rest of the run.

What is Elaine hired to do at the J. Peterman Company?

Write the copy: Peterman hires her for his catalog after a chance meeting in the street, and when he later runs off to Burma he leaves her in charge of the whole thing.

Who is banned from the Soup Nazi's stand for a year with a cry of 'No soup for you!'?

Elaine drums on his counter and tells him he looks like a film star; George, by contrast, only loses one order for asking about bread, and is served the next time.

In "The Betrayal", the gang flies to India for the wedding of which candy-bar heiress and rival of Elaine's?

Sue Ellen Mischke calls the wedding off at the last minute, on learning that Elaine, her maid of honor, once slept with the groom.

The exterior of which real Manhattan eatery stands in for the gang's regular coffee shop?

Tom's Restaurant, at Broadway and 112th Street, lends only its exterior and neon 'Restaurant' sign; the scenes inside the coffee shop were shot on a studio set.

In which New York City borough do George's parents live?

Queens: a magazine label gives the Costanza address as 1344 Queens Boulevard, Flushing, and when George's money runs out he has to move back in with them there.

Moments after learning of Susan's death, what do George and his friends go off to get?

They go for some coffee; the flat, shrugging reaction to Susan's death in 'The Invitations' (1996) caps a relationship George had spent the whole season trying to escape.

The Costanza family holiday from "The Strike" is celebrated on which date?

Festivus falls on December 23; in 'The Strike' (1997) Kramer goes back on strike when his boss refuses to give him the day off for it.

On Seinfeld, Elaine's new friend who is Jerry's reliable, considerate opposite gets dubbed 'Bizarro Jerry'; what is his name?

Kevin proves far more reliable than Jerry, who explains that Superman's foe Bizarro does everything in the opposite manner.

What term did George use to explain why his body appeared smaller after a swim in cold water?

George calls it shrinkage after Jerry's girlfriend sees him naked following a cold swim in 'The Hamptons' (1994); asked whether women know about it, Elaine says, 'What do you mean, like laundry?'

What nickname does Seinfeld give Elaine's boyfriend Aaron in 'The Raincoats'?

Close Talker: Aaron, played by Judge Reinhold, stands inches from people's faces, and ends up spending more time with Jerry's visiting parents than Elaine does.

Whose talk-show set does Kramer famously rebuild in his apartment?

Merv Griffin's old set turns up in a dumpster; Kramer rebuilds it in his apartment in 'The Merv Griffin Show' (1997) and interviews his friends as guests, with Newman as co-host.

What term describes someone who gives a gift they previously received to another person?

Elaine brands Tim Whatley a re-gifter in 'The Label Maker' (1995) after the label maker she gave him for Christmas turns up as his thank-you gift to Jerry for Super Bowl tickets.

Which snack-table habit of George's enrages Timmy at a wake in 'The Implant'?

George's double dipping enrages Timmy, who says it is like putting your whole mouth in the dip; the scuffle that follows gets George thrown out of the wake by his girlfriend.

In "The Strike", George dodges buying Christmas gifts by claiming donations to what made-up charity?

George's fake charity is The Human Fund, slogan 'Money for People'; when Kruger donates $20,000 to it, the accountants find it does not exist and George has to explain Festivus.

Which actress played George Costanza's mother?

Estelle Harris joined in 1992, in one of the show's most famous episodes: Mrs. Costanza walks in on George at home and ends up in a hospital bed.

Which actor played Jerry's nemesis, the neighbour Jerry greets with contempt?

Wayne Knight played Newman from 1992 to the finale; he reprised the role in a 2014 Super Bowl spot, a Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee reunion with the actors who played Jerry and George.

Which actor played the role of George Costanza?

Jason Alexander played George, who is modelled on the show's co-creator: George quitting in a rage, then turning up for work as if nothing had happened, is taken from the co-creator's own past.

Which actress played the role of Elaine Benes?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus joined in the second episode: the pilot's only regular woman was a waitress, Claire, who was dropped when Elaine Benes was written in.

Which older man in Jerry's life boasts endlessly about his son Jeffrey, who works for the Parks Department?

Uncle Leo, his mother's brother, hails him with a loud 'Jerry! Hello!'; in 'The Bookstore' Jerry catches him shoplifting, and Leo pleads that he is just a confused old man.

In Seinfeld's first episode, the Kramer character walks into Jerry's apartment with what pet?

A dog bounds in ahead of him, leaps on George and then goes off to drink from Jerry's toilet, which its owner shrugs off as getting a drink of water.

Seinfeld's finale has Jerry repeat the pilot's first conversation, about what part of George's shirt?

A button: Jerry tells George the second one 'makes or breaks the shirt' in the pilot's first conversation and again in a jail cell as the finale closes, where George asks if they have had this conversation before.

Seinfeld ended its nine-season run as TV's top-rated show, a feat first achieved by which 1950s sitcom?

I Love Lucy went out at No. 1 in 1957 and The Andy Griffith Show matched it in 1968; Seinfeld did it because its star chose to stop while the show still led the ratings.

What operation is Elaine's ex-boyfriend Roy undergoing when Jerry and Kramer watch from the gallery?

A splenectomy: Elaine had dumped Roy, an artist, for being fat, and regains interest at his bedside on finding that heartbreak has starved him slim.

The Seinfeld episode 'The Contest' gave the language what euphemism for resisting a certain urge?

Master of my domain is how Jerry reports that he has held out; the word for the act is never spoken, and the others answer in kind: George is 'king of the county', Elaine 'queen of the castle'.

In "The Opposite", Elaine's love of which candy ruins her life?

Jujyfruits: Elaine stops to buy a box before rushing to her injured boyfriend Jake Jarmel's hospital bed, and he dumps her for putting the candy first.

Along with Superman and the Mets, the fictional Jerry is a noted fan of what food?

Breakfast cereal boxes line Jerry's kitchen shelf, and when the show built a mirror-image flat for his 'Bizarro' opposite, the designers stocked it with health food instead.

On Seinfeld, which bread does George scheme to sneak into his fiancée's parents' apartment?

A marble rye: Frank took back the loaf the Rosses never served, so Jerry robs an old woman of the bakery's last one and George reels it up to the window on a fishing line.

On Seinfeld, George buys Elaine which meal to go, then fumes when his girlfriend gets thanked for it?

A big salad: George pays, his girlfriend Julie hands it to Elaine and takes the thanks, and George cannot rest until Elaine knows who really bought it.

What product does Elaine famously hoard when she learns it is being discontinued?

Elaine buys the last case of contraceptive sponges she can find when they are taken off the market in 'The Sponge' (1995), then rations them by vetting whether each boyfriend is 'sponge-worthy'.

Running the catalog while Peterman is in Burma, Elaine puts what hat design on the cover?

The Urban Sombrero 'combines the spirit of old Mexico with a little big city panache', Elaine tells Peterman just before his breakdown; left in charge, she puts her own idea on the cover.

What classic arcade game does George attempt to move across town to preserve his high score?

Frogger: with the battery dying, George wheels the machine across a busy street, dodging traffic like the frog in the game, until a truck smashes it to pieces.

In "The Strike", the holiday pole Frank Costanza puts up is made of what?

Aluminum, Frank explains, has a very high strength-to-weight ratio, and the pole stays bare because he finds tinsel distracting.

What unusual item does Kramer craft out of pasta in the likeness of his neighbour?

Fusilli Jerry is Kramer's pasta statuette of his neighbour; asked why he chose fusilli, Kramer answers, 'Because you're silly.'

The Seinfeld episode "The Betrayal" is told in what unusual way?

In reverse order: the scenes run from last to first, a tribute to Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, which is told the same way, and the groom is even named Pinter.

What unusual physical trait does Jerry's girlfriend Gillian have in 'The Bizarro Jerry'?

Man-hands: Jerry cannot get past Gillian's large, strong hands and breaks up with her, and when he later reaches for her purse she crushes his hand in her grip.

Elaine's recurring boyfriend in Seinfeld's final season is which auto mechanic turned car salesman?

David Puddy takes everything in stride: when Elaine is led off to jail in the finale and tells him not to wait for her, he just says, 'Alright.'

On Seinfeld, George's belated comeback to a shrimp-eating jibe claims that which store called?

The jerk store called, George finally says, 'and they're running out of you'; he flies to Akron to deliver it, and his rival shoots back that George is their all-time best seller.

Jerry's parents, Morty and Helen, retire to which Florida community?

Del Boca Vista is where Kramer retires in 'The Wizard': Morty, unable to run after his impeachment at his previous condo, puts him up for condo-board president instead.

In which Seinfeld season 4 episode do network executives first invite Jerry to come up with a show?

The Pitch (1992) has George, sure that television's standards are low, talk his way in as writer and pitch the executives his own concept; the arc ends with 'The Pilot'.

On Seinfeld, George has a carpenter secretly refit which piece of office furniture so he can nap at work?

His desk gets a hidden bed and a shelf for an alarm clock; when his boss settles in the office to wait for him, George, trapped underneath, has Jerry phone in a bomb threat.

On Seinfeld, Kramer's girlfriend Leslie speaks so quietly that she becomes known as what?

Leslie is the low talker; unable to hear a word at dinner, Jerry and Elaine just nod along, and one of those nods commits Jerry to a favour he never knew he was granting.

On Seinfeld, Kramer comes to love long showers so much that he starts doing what in there?

Preparing meals: he fits a garbage disposal in the tub drain and cooks as he bathes, and his dinner guests gag when he tells them where the food was made.

In which Seinfeld episode does the model Tia drop Jerry after seeing him scratch his nose in traffic?

'The Pick' (1992): Tia thinks she saw a nose pick and will not hear that it was a scratch, while Kramer, furious that Calvin Klein used his beach-scent idea, ends up modelling its underwear.

What famous baseball team does George Costanza eventually work for?

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner hires him on the spot after George, in the interview, berates him to his face for reducing the team to a laughing stock.

On Seinfeld, what alias, first invented as an importer-exporter cover story in 'The Stake Out', does George adopt repeatedly?

Art Vandelay keeps growing: George names him as a favourite writer at a publishing interview, then tells the unemployment office he is up for a latex-salesman job at Vandelay Industries.

On Seinfeld, Elaine refuses to take off which team's cap in the owner's box?

Orioles: Elaine grew up near Baltimore and will not budge even when a guard is called, and in the scuffle that follows Kramer is hit on the head by a baseball.

How much per episode did NBC reportedly offer Jerry Seinfeld for a tenth season, which he turned down?

$5 million an episode, about $110 million for a 22-episode tenth season, was the reported offer; he declined, wanting the show to go out on top.

In which year did Seinfeld win the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series?

Seinfeld won Outstanding Comedy Series at the 1993 Emmys for its fourth season, beating Cheers, Murphy Brown, The Larry Sanders Show and its Wednesday time-slot rival Home Improvement.

After its one win, Seinfeld lost the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy every year to which show?

Frasier beat Seinfeld five years running, then inherited its Thursday-night slot when Seinfeld signed off.

Seinfeld's theme music, heard between scenes, is built on the popping sound of which instrument?

A slap bass, sampled and pieced together by composer Jonathan Wolff with finger snaps and mouth noises; he reworked the theme for each episode to fit the rhythm of its dialogue.

What four-word rule did Seinfeld's producers use to describe how the characters should never grow?

'No hugging, no learning' was co-creator Larry David's rule against sitcom sentiment, and it held to the end: the last episode leaves all four in a jail cell, none the wiser.

In 2002, which magazine ranked Seinfeld first on its list of the 50 greatest shows ever made?

TV Guide put Seinfeld at No. 1 on its 2002 list, above The Honeymooners and All in the Family, then moved it down to second when it ranked the greatest shows again in 2013.

What is the first name of the real Kramer, Larry David's old neighbor?

Kenny Kramer lived across the hall from Larry David for six years; once the show wanted his surname he sent the network a list of demands, won most of them, and later launched a bus tour of its landmarks.

Which retired baseball star does Jerry befriend in a locker room in 'The Boyfriend'?

Keith Hernandez and Jerry hit it off like a new couple, until Hernandez asks for help moving house, which Jerry frets is going too far for someone he hardly knows.

In 'The Boyfriend', which relief pitcher turns out to be the real 'second spitter'?

Roger McDowell, then a Mets reliever, is revealed as the second spitter in 'The Boyfriend' (1992), in a parody of the Zapruder film and the 'magic loogie' single-spitter theory.

'The Outing', source of 'not that there's anything wrong with that', was honored by which group?

GLAAD's media award came in 1994; the script, which its makers feared would offend gay viewers, was nearly dropped until the repeated disclaimer was written in.

What unscripted mishap became the ending of the Seinfeld episode 'The Parking Garage'?

The car failed to start when the cast piled in for the final shot; the script had them drive off hunting for the exit, but the dead engine was funnier and stayed in.

In 'The Bubble Boy', George denies Donald a Trivial Pursuit win over which misprinted answer?

The card reads 'Moops' instead of Moors; Donald correctly names the Moors as the 8th-century invaders of Spain, George insists the answer is Moops, and a fight ensues.

Which Henry Miller novel does the library claim Jerry never returned after borrowing it in 1971?

Tropic of Cancer is the book library cop Mr. Bookman pursues in 'The Library' (1991); Jerry finally recalls lending it to George, who lost it in gym class while their teacher was giving him a wedgie.

Which restaurant chain's giant red neon sign floods Kramer's apartment with light and wrecks his sleep?

The red neon sign of a Kenny Rogers Roasters across the street floods Kramer's apartment in 'The Chicken Roaster' (1996); he swaps apartments with Jerry, and the two gradually swap personalities.

On Seinfeld, how does George's 'Summer of George' end?

In hospital: he slips on a party invitation dropped on his stairs, and the doctor says his legs have so wasted from inactivity that walking again will take hard work.

Kramer accidentally receives a Tony Award for which musical in 'The Summer of George'?

Kramer wanders onstage with the winners for Scarsdale Surprise, a musical starring Raquel Welch, and walks off with a Tony; the producers let him keep it only if he fires her.

George's sung answering-machine message, 'Believe it or not, George isn't at home', borrows which 1980s TV theme?

The Greatest American Hero's theme, 'Believe It or Not', is the tune George sings over; he is screening every call so that a girlfriend who 'needs to talk' cannot break up with him.

Which actor played Elaine's gruff novelist father, Alton Benes, in 'The Jacket'?

Lawrence Tierney played Alton Benes in 'The Jacket' (1991); the famously volatile actor pocketed a butcher knife from the kitchen set, and the show never invited him back.

Kramer's flamboyant, grandiloquent lawyer Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld is a parody of which real attorney?

Johnnie Cochran's initials, moustache and grand vocabulary all went into Jackie Chiles, and the parody outlived the show: Phil Morris played him again in commercials for a minivan and a diet soda.

Which candy bar does Elaine's wealthy boss Justin Pitt eat off a plate with a knife and fork?

A Snickers: George copies the habit at work to seem refined, and it spreads until Jerry and Elaine look round a restaurant where everyone is eating snacks with cutlery.

In the only Seinfeld episode without George, which gift to Jerry causes an uproar?

An astronaut pen that writes upside down: Jerry admires it, a neighbour of his parents insists he take it, and gossip that he accepted sweeps the Florida condo until Jerry hands it back.

In Seinfeld's 'The Bottle Deposit', Kramer and Newman haul empties to which state, which pays twice New York's 5-cent refund?

Michigan's 10-cent refund only pays once Newman finds a mail truck going there for free; the scheme dies in Ohio, where Kramer spots Jerry's stolen car and dumps the bottles to give chase.

Which film does Elaine want to see instead of The English Patient?

Sack Lunch, whose poster shows a family in a brown paper bag, sells out; saying she hates The English Patient then gets Elaine fired by Peterman until she agrees to go and live in a Tunisian cave.

In 'The Pothole', Newman's mail truck catches fire after dragging what along the highway?

A sewing machine lying in Kramer's widened lane gets caught under Newman's mail truck and drags along the road; the sparks ignite spilled paint thinner and the truck bursts into flames.

Which singer appears as himself at a benefit in 'The Jimmy'?

Mel Tormé, 'The Velvet Fog', serenades Kramer at the benefit: slurring from a dentist's novocaine, Kramer has been taken for one of the charity's mentally challenged guests of honor.

In the Seinfeld finale, the gang's private jet is heading for which city?

Paris was to be one last fling before Jerry and George moved west to make their sitcom; Kramer, hopping to clear water from his ear, stumbles into the cockpit and the jet comes down in Latham, Massachusetts.

Roughly how many US viewers watched the Seinfeld finale when it first aired?

76 million (Nielsen counted 76.3 million), a crowd only three series finales had beaten, M*A*S*H's above all; the network built its whole evening around it, opening with a clip show.

Which Seinfeld episode was banned from NBC reruns after Kramer accidentally burned a flag?

'The Puerto Rican Day' drew protests over Kramer accidentally setting a Puerto Rican flag alight and stamping on it; NBC apologized, and the episode stayed out of syndication until 2002.

George gives Elaine a marked-down cashmere sweater; what flaw explains the price?

A red dot: George hopes nobody will notice, but Kramer spots it at once, and so does the office cleaner George later tries to buy off with the same sweater.

What is the subject of the book Kramer develops across Seinfeld's fifth season?

Coffee tables: the book has fold-out legs so it can become one itself, and it lands Kramer on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, where he spits a mouthful of coffee over Kathie Lee.

Kramer calls his bra for men 'the Bro'; what name does Frank Costanza prefer?

The Mansiere, Frank explains, is 'a brassiere for a man'; the pair take it to a bra salesman, but Frank storms out of the deal when the man asks his blessing to date Frank's wife.

Which business owner calls Jerry a 'very bad man' after taking his advice?

Babu Bhatt turns his empty eatery all-Pakistani on Jerry's advice; when still nobody comes, he turns on Jerry: 'You bad man! You very, very bad man!'

Which cartoon character's Pez dispenser makes Elaine crack up at a piano recital?

Jerry stands a Tweety Bird Pez dispenser on Elaine's leg during Noel's piano recital in 'The Pez Dispenser' (1992); her laughing fit wrecks the performance, and Noel later leaves George on learning whose laugh it was.

What does Kramer hang from his window to protest a restaurant's blinding red neon sign?

A banner reading 'Bad Chicken' is Kramer's bid to scare off the diners and get the sign switched off; then Newman brings some of the chicken round, and Kramer is hooked on it.

Which streamer held US rights to all nine Seinfeld seasons from June 2015 to June 2021?

Hulu streamed Seinfeld in the US from June 2015 until June 2021; Netflix took over worldwide that October and was criticized for cropping the 4:3 picture to widescreen, cutting off some sight gags.

In 'The Dinner Party,' which flavour of babka does Elaine dismiss as 'the lesser babka'?

Elaine calls the cinnamon babka 'the lesser babka' in 'The Dinner Party' (1994) after the couple ahead of them buys the last chocolate one; Jerry insists cinnamon takes a back seat to no babka.

In 'The Bris,' Kramer is convinced he has seen what creature in a hospital bed?

A pig-man, Kramer insists, bred by the government; the 'pig-man' he frees is only a short, pudgy patient, who escapes by stealing George's car from in front of the hospital.

In 'The Hamptons,' Kramer is arrested for poaching what from commercial traps?

Lobsters, lifted from a commercial trap, get Kramer handed to the police; before that George, out for revenge, slips some into the scrambled eggs of Jerry's kosher girlfriend Rachel.

Seinfeld is set on Manhattan's Upper West Side, but nearly every episode was filmed in which city?

Los Angeles stood in for New York: after the pilot, the series was shot at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, where even the sidewalk strolls used a backlot street.

Which future Breaking Bad star played Jerry's joke-telling dentist in several episodes of Seinfeld?

Bryan Cranston landed the recurring part in 1994 and played it until 1997, years before Malcolm in the Middle made him a household name.

Which singer died the night Seinfeld's finale aired, his ambulance racing through emptied streets?

Frank Sinatra's ambulance reached his house in just four minutes. The Beverly Hills fire chief credited streets left empty by everyone staying in to watch.

Kramer's slow highway drive with a fugitive golfer in Seinfeld parodies whose real police chase?

O. J. Simpson had fled in his white Ford Bronco only weeks before the script was written, and real news footage of that pursuit was cut into the episode.

On Seinfeld, Newman tells Jerry's parents that Jerry made out through which Steven Spielberg film?

Schindler's List was chosen on purpose: Jerry Seinfeld said the writers knew that Steven Spielberg was a fan of the sitcom.

Which future Desperate Housewives star told Jerry on Seinfeld that hers were real and spectacular?

Teri Hatcher's parting line was not in the script: the sitcom's co-creator asked her to add it during the taping of 'The Implant'.

A street gang on Seinfeld flashes eight fingers as its sign because it is named after which US president?

Martin Van Buren was the eighth president, hence the eight fingers. Kramer escapes the gang by accident: gripping a garlic shaker, he happens to flash the sign.

Seinfeld's ratings took off in season four after a move to Thursdays behind which departing sitcom?

Cheers was bowing out when Seinfeld left Wednesdays for the slot behind it. On Wednesdays it had kept losing to Tim Allen's Home Improvement.

In Seinfeld's 'The Doorman', Kramer and Frank Costanza show an underwear salesman what invention for men?

A bra for men split its inventors: Kramer called it the Bro, while Frank preferred the Mansiere. The writers had the same argument for real while making the episode.

On Seinfeld, the woman in the next stall refuses Elaine toilet paper, saying she cannot spare what?

A square was too much to ask of Jane, who turns out to be Jerry's girlfriend. Writer Larry Charles took the stand-off from a Dear Abby letter.

Which Oscar winner does the engaged George chase on Seinfeld after hearing she likes quirky bald men?

Marisa Tomei, playing herself, is charmed by George until she learns he was engaged all along, and then she punches him.

On Seinfeld, George buys a used LeBaron because the salesman says it belonged to which Oscar-winning actor?

Jon Voight never owned it: the owner's manual names John Voight, who turns out to be a periodontist. The real actor appears anyway, and bites Kramer's arm.

Which singer-actress does George flatten at home plate during a charity softball game on Seinfeld?

Bette Midler, playing herself as the star of a Broadway musical, ends up in a hospital bed, where a starstruck Kramer appoints himself her bedside attendant.

Which real New York politician blames his high cholesterol on frozen yogurt in Seinfeld's 'The Non-Fat Yogurt'?

Rudy Giuliani was still only a candidate when the script was written, so the crew made two versions, one for each possible winner of the mayoral election held two days before it aired.

Which Oscar winner plays Jerry's girlfriend Laura, a tennis lineswoman George enlists to spy at a party on Seinfeld?

Marlee Matlin, the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award, plays a tennis lineswoman whose lip reading Kramer relays in rusty sign language, with garbled results.

In Seinfeld's 'The Parking Garage', what is Elaine desperate to get home before the group can find Kramer's car?

Goldfish in a plastic bag are on the clock all episode as the four wander a New Jersey mall car park. Help arrives much too late for them.

After a restaurant valet parks Jerry's car on Seinfeld, what lingers so stubbornly that Jerry abandons the vehicle?

Body odor from the valet outlasts a thorough cleaning, and a dealer calls the car unsellable. Jerry leaves it on the street with the keys in view, and even a thief recoils.

At a family dinner on Seinfeld, Jerry offends an elderly relative by mocking kids who grew up owning what?

A pony, it turns out, was the pride of the relative's Polish childhood. She leaves the table, dies soon after, and Jerry spends the episode denying that his remark killed her.

In Seinfeld's 'The Contest', sharing an aerobics class with which famous political son proves too much for Elaine?

John F. Kennedy Jr. shares a taxi with a starstruck Elaine, and soon she is the second of the four friends to pay up.

Seinfeld's co-creator supplied the voice of which real baseball team owner, played on screen by stand-ins?

George Steinbrenner's full face was never shown: stand-ins sat with their backs to the camera. The real owner later called the portrayal unflattering but essentially accurate.

What kind of bird is Little Jerry Seinfeld, the pet Kramer buys on Seinfeld expecting fresh eggs?

A rooster was not the plan: Kramer thought he had bought a hen until Jerry set him straight. After the bird sees off a small dog, a bodega owner talks Kramer into a cockfight, which Little Jerry wins.

Newman hoards undelivered mail on Seinfeld while sulking over a missed postal transfer to which US state?

Hawaii is the dream posting Newman keeps missing. Jerry even delivers the hidden mail himself, hoping the transfer will finally move Newman out of his life.

At which opera on Seinfeld are Jerry and Elaine stalked by 'Crazy' Joe Davola, who arrives dressed as its clown?

Pagliacci ends with its clown killing his unfaithful wife, and Davola, who confuses Elaine with her, turns up in full costume and make-up. The tenor billed that night is Luciano Pavarotti.

Which fictional film on Seinfeld is billed as a young girl's strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk?

Rochelle, Rochelle starts as a trailer that tantalises Jerry, returns as a video rental for George, and is finally turned into a Broadway musical.

On Seinfeld, George dreams of naming his first child Seven in honour of which baseball legend's jersey number?

Mickey Mantle wore number 7, but Susan refuses the name. Worse, her cousin and the cousin's husband, fellow Mantle fans, like it enough to take Seven for their own baby.

On Seinfeld, George vies for an apartment against a survivor of which ocean liner, sunk off Nantucket in 1956?

The Andrea Doria stayed afloat for hours and nearly everyone aboard survived, so George decides the survivor's case is weak and tries to out-pity him before the tenant association.

Which actor played catalogue boss J. Peterman on Seinfeld and later became part-owner of the real company?

John O'Hurley invested in the relaunch of the real J. Peterman Company and took a seat on the board of the business he had spent years parodying.

In Seinfeld's 'The Keys', Kramer heads for Hollywood and turns up as a secretary on which real sitcom?

Murphy Brown star Candice Bergen plays the scene herself, with Kramer as her new secretary, Steven Snell. His friends only find out when they spot him on television.

To keep a Tony Award he was handed by mistake, Kramer must fire which screen star on Seinfeld?

Raquel Welch's diva act was fiction, by the crew's account: despite her reputation for being difficult, they said she caused no problems and seemed happy to be there.

In Seinfeld's 'The Dinner Party', which treat ends Jerry's 14-year streak of not vomiting?

A black and white cookie is Jerry's emblem of racial harmony, so he eats both halves in equal bites. Inside him the two sides fail to get along.

Which snack does Kramer's single movie line on Seinfeld blame for making him thirsty?

Pretzels took on a life of their own: for months after the episode aired, fans threw them at Jerry Seinfeld during his stand-up shows.

After moving back in with his parents on Seinfeld, George is scouted for what unlikely new career?

Hand model George turns vain overnight, wearing oven mitts out of the house to protect his assets, until a painful burn ends the career.

On Seinfeld, George copies Elaine's fussy boss by eating which chocolate bar with a knife and fork?

Snickers by cutlery came from real life: the episode's writers knew someone in college who ate his that way, and were urged to put it in the script.

Which future Friends star posed as Jerry's wife on Seinfeld to share his dry-cleaning discount?

Courteney Cox played Meryl just before her own breakthrough. The grateful dry cleaner had offered 25% off for Jerry and his family, so a fake marriage it was.

Jerry gives away his tickets to which big game on Seinfeld, then ends up there anyway, squeezed in beside Newman?

The Super Bowl clashed with a friend's wedding, so Jerry gave his tickets to his dentist. He gets one back in the end, and finds himself crammed next to a smug Newman.

The 'magic loogie' reconstruction in Seinfeld's 'The Boyfriend' parodies a courtroom scene in which Oliver Stone film?

JFK supplied the template: Jerry's courtroom-style replay of a spitting incident copies the colour and camera effects of the film's Zapruder footage.

On Seinfeld, Puddy paints his face to cheer on which hockey team in a playoff game against the Rangers?

New Jersey Devils fan that he is, Puddy paints himself as a devil, and on the way home terrifies a visiting priest who takes him for the real thing.

Which cable channel marked Seinfeld's finale by showing only a closed office door with a handwritten note?

TV Land scheduled no programmes against the episode. The note on the door said its staff were TV fans too, and were busy watching the last Seinfeld.

George shoves an elderly woman aside to flee a small kitchen fire at what kind of gathering on Seinfeld?

A birthday party for his girlfriend's young son is the scene, and the clown he flattens is a young Jon Favreau. George later insists he was leading the way to safety.

On Seinfeld, George's boss at the ballpark gets hooked on which Italian lunch after demanding a taste of George's?

A calzone a day becomes the boss's demand, which turns into a curse once the pizzeria bans George for reaching into the tip jar to re-drop a tip nobody saw.

Jerry fools Elaine on Seinfeld by claiming 'War, What Is It Good For?' was which novel's original title?

War and Peace it is, by Jerry's account, and Elaine confidently retells the story to her boss and a renowned Russian author she has compared to Tolstoy.

Letters salvaged from a cabin fire on Seinfeld reveal that Susan's father had an affair with which American author?

John Cheever, by then dead, had written him salacious love letters, and Susan's father unabashedly defends the affair in front of his dumbfounded family.

Elaine's intimidating novelist father on Seinfeld was inspired by which real author of Revolutionary Road?

Richard Yates really did meet the sitcom's co-creator, who was dating his daughter, at the Algonquin Hotel. The suitor's new suede jacket made it into the script too.

After Kramer moves to California in Seinfeld's 'The Trip', police wrongly name him as which serial killer?

The Smog Strangler label reaches Jerry and George through a TV news bulletin, and they can only stare at each other in disbelief. The real culprit is an escaped carjacker.

Which Cocoon star plays the Postmaster General who intimidates Kramer into accepting his mail again on Seinfeld?

Wilford Brimley's stern lecture has been read as a parody of his own scene in Absence of Malice. His character is invented: the real Postmaster General then was Marvin Runyon.

Which actor played Lt. Bookman, the library cop who hounds Jerry over an overdue book on Seinfeld?

Philip Baker Hall played the part in imitation of Jack Webb's Sergeant Joe Friday from Dragnet, and returned as Bookman for the series finale.

Kramer loses his sense of taste on Seinfeld just as which prized fruit, ripe for only two weeks a year, arrives?

Mackinaw peaches do not exist: both the name and the two-week season were made up by the episode's writers, a rare outright fantasy in the sitcom.

Which Airplane! star earned an Emmy nomination as Izzy Mandelbaum, the 80-year-old Jerry meets in a gym on Seinfeld?

Lloyd Bridges earned it four decades after his first Emmy nomination, and a final-season episode, 'The Burning', was dedicated to his memory.

Which Beverly Hills Cop actor plays Aaron, Elaine's boyfriend who dotes on Jerry's parents, on Seinfeld?

Judge Reinhold earned an Emmy nomination for the part: Aaron treats the couple he has only just met to a museum tour, My Fair Lady, dinner and a carriage ride.

On Seinfeld, Newman hooks Kramer up with black-market shower heads that come from which European country?

Yugoslavia is the source of the forbidden hardware, sought after low-flow fittings leave the whole building with sudsy hair. Kramer splurges on a nozzle meant for washing elephants.